“Pretty Boy” Pablo Valdez is out to make up for lost time.
Valdez, an undefeated New York welterweight prospect, is 7-0 (6 KOs) and last fought on the undercard of Edgar Berlanga’s victory over Jason Quigley in New York’s Madison Square Garden in June 2023. But he said he “feels amazing” ahead of his scheduled eight-rounder with 25-7 (18 KOs) Eudy Bernardo.
An arm injury cost Valdez the last year, but he is keen to forge forward with his fight on ProBox TV at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida, on Saturday.
The fight is a step-up for Valdez, and he knows what is expected with the contest.
“They match you hard, but I take the challenge,” he said. “I’ve got the best team in the world, so I feel very confident.
“There was a couple of guys [in the frame to fight], but he was the one with the best credentials – good record, 18 knockouts, more knockouts than I have fights on my record. I talked to my trainer, and they said, ‘Let’s take him. I think you can beat him. We’ve just got to train hard.’”
Eight years spent in prison means that time is not on Valdez’s side, but he has a strong boxing foundation after picking up so much in the New York gyms and surrounding areas over the years.
“I started boxing in 2002,” he said. “I started with Amanda Serrano’s trainer and then I went to Gary Stark and then I went away to prison. I came up with Luis Collazo, Paulie [Malignaggi], Marcus Browne, Curtis Stevens, Danny Jacobs, Joe Greene, and I got in trouble, I went away and did eight years, and before I went to jail, I was out doing a lot of amateur fights and I was doing a lot of sparring with all the good guys and, when I came home, I decided to turn pro. I had a lot of amateur fights, but I had more of a sparring background. I came back in 2016, weighed 205lbs and I dropped to 140lbs for my pro debut.”
Released from prison on a Tuesday, Valdez was in the gym that Thursday.
He now trains with Sherif Younan and has been sparring with the likes of Cesar Francis, Edgar Berlanga, Anthony Soto and Richard Commey.
The noise about Bernardo being a level up for Gomez is a familiar sound for the New Yorker.
“They said that about my last opponent,” he said. “I’m focused and I’m happy and I just expect him to fight. I don’t want him to run like everybody else. At that first bell, I’m gonna fight, because that’s my style. I give the fans what they pay for.”